1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the testing of electronic clocks and, more particularly, to a method and system for testing the accuracy of oscillators of electronic clocks by transforming the outputs of the oscillators into non-sinusoidal signals. 2. Discussion of the Prior Art
It is conventional in the testing of the accuracy of quartz crystal clocks to pick up or detect the output of the clock oscillators by means of an antenna and to compare the detected signal with a reference frequency signal. The deviation of the detected frequency signal from the reference frequency signal is then indicated in digital or analog form to permit adjustment, if desired, of the clock oscillator. The oscillators of quartz crystal clocks operate at various frequencies, for example, 16.384kHz, 32.768 kHz, 262.175kHz and 4.194MHz; and normally, a separate apparatus is required for testing each oscillator frequency since a different reference frequency signal must be provided corresponding to the oscillator frequency of the clock being tested. Accordingly, it is quite expensive for a clockmaker to maintain sufficient equipment on hand to test existing types of electronic clocks and, additionally, the clockmaker is required to have a knowledge of the oscillator frequency of any clock being tested in order to select the appropriate apparatus necessary for testing that clock. If this knowledge is not available, the clockmaker must determine the frequency of the clock by trial and error which is, of course, quite time consuming.